


Promise

by evincis



Category: NCIS
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Drama, F/M, Gen, Leaving Home, Promises, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 05:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/935850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evincis/pseuds/evincis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Ziva gets ready to leave NCIS, Tony is reluctant to let her go. A little push from his co-workers helps him to finally deal with her departure and make a promise. After finally ajusting to NCIS without Ziva, changes are on the horizon. Basically what i would like to happen in the end of season 11 (or the end of the show).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> For my first post on AOW, I decided to publish this fic since it's thanks to NCIS that I started writing fanfiction. Keep in mind that I haven't written NCIS FF for a very long time. I will miss CdP a lot but I wish her all the best with her carrier. NCIS won't be the same.

_Disclaimer: I do now own NCIS. This story is for entertainment purposes only and means no copyright infringement whatsoever. It is not to be published without my explicit consent._

 

As she arrived at the terminal, Ziva couldn't believe that she was about to leave the United States after all her efforts to become an American citizen and build a life in Washington. She had tried so hard to get away from Mossad and now she was voluntarily going back. She let a tear slide down her cheeks at the thought of the people that she was leaving behind: Gibbs who she had grown to love like a father, Ducky – the old single uncle with the funny stories, McGee – the nerdy little brother that she would give up her life for, Abby - the weird cousin or sister who she loved to death, and Tony… well Tony. He was the only person to whom she hadn't said goodbye. Everyone had been to her going away party except for him. She knew that his excuse that he had paperwork to do was just that. He hadn't wanted to come. After the summer they had spent, she had hoped that he would want to spend as much time with her as she wanted to spend with him… well, that was Tony. He'd managed to fool even her.

As she heard the flight attendant announce that he flight was boarding, she took her carry on, stood up, took a breath and started walking toward the gate, toward her renewed old life.

* * *

When McGee arrived in the office in the morning, he found Tony in the exact same position in which he had left him. Writing reports.

"Good Morning, Tony." He greeted the man. "Did you stay here all night?"

"Is it morning all ready?" Tony didn't look up from his computer. "Then yes. I've been here all night. Great observational skills, Probie." The junior agent did not respond to the hostility in Tony's tone. He knew that the DiNozzo was hurting. He noticed Tony check the time on his watch again.

"She should be leaving for the airport just about now." He said simply. Tony didn't respond. "You can still call her and say goodbye."

"Check your e-mail." Tony said ignoring McGee's remarks. "I sent you the report." As McGee was about to protest that they were supposed to do this together, Tony shushed him. "Just read it, correct the typos and anything that you don't agree with and send it to Vance." McGee tried to say something again but Tony made him a sign not to. "Don't. Unless it's to say thank you."

"Thank you." McGee reluctantly let out. He wanted to help his friend but he didn't know how. He stood up in order to go to the lab where he knew Abby would be crying and stopped for a second. "Just so you know, she wanted you to come last night. She didn't say so but she spent the evening watching the door, possibly hoping that you'd show up." With that, McGee headed toward the elevator.

Tony DiNozzo was not a man who expressed his feelings easily. Usually it took extreme situations for him to be forced to let them out. That is why he did not like the fact that McGee was trying to force him to talk. He appreciated the gesture but he couldn't. He'd lost too many people already: Kate, Jeanne, Paula, Jenny… He couldn't acknowledge the fact that he was losing Ziva. After their summer together, he'd been so certain that nothing could stand between them. And then, she decided to leave. It had been  _her_  decision. Damn it. Why had she agreed to go back? He…  _They_  didn't mean anything to her. She could have chosen him. He kicked his desk and sat down. Having spent all night doing his paperwork, he hadn't had time to think. And that is why he had spent all night doing paperwork. He didn't want to think. When he thought about this, it hurt. It hurt more than he could bear. He was forced to acknowledge that now. And he didn't want to. Maybe if he didn't think about her leaving, if he didn't say goodbye, she wouldn't leave. It wouldn't hurt.

He looked at the desk across from his and realized that it was really empty. She  _was_  gone. And the fact that he hadn't said goodbye hadn't stopped her. It only hurt more because he hadn't had the chance to caress her cheeks one last time, or kiss her lips, or smell her hair.

He started the browser on his computer and opened the website of the airline that she was flying with. Her flight was scheduled on time. Which meant that 2h from that moment, she would be gone for good. And there was nothing that he could do about it. He laid back in his chair, and stared at the desk, which illustrated perfectly what he was feeling in his heart – emptiness.

"Good Morning, Agent DiNozzo." Director Vance came in the open space. "Long night?" The agent didn't respond. "Where is Agent Gibbs?"

"Coffee." Tony answered simply without looking away from Ziva's desk.

"McGee?"

"Abby's lab."

"What can we do for you, Leon?" Gibbs entered with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Get McGee and come to MTAC. FBI and DEA want a word."

Tony faintly noticed Gibbs nodding, picking up the phone and calling McGee. When the junior agent came in the bullpen, he and Gibbs headed upstairs. Tony hadn't moved. His mind was miles away. He couldn't stop thinking about the woman who, for the past 8 years, had sat a couple of feet away from him.

"You coming, Tony?" he heard McGee asked but he didn't move.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs said but Tony didn't move. "DiNozzo." Gibbs approached his senior field agent. "Sitting around doesn't fix anything. So snap out of it. Either do your job or take a day off. But don't sit around doing nothing." It was then that Tony looked at his boss.

"I've got to go." He simply said. He opened his desk drawer, took his wallet and keys, got up and headed toward the elevator.

"Boss, what is he…"

"Letting go, McGee." Gibbs smiled and took a sip from his coffee cup. "Letting go."

"How long does it take to come up the stairs? FBI's waiting." Leon Vance shouted from upstairs. "Where the hell is DiNozzo?" Gibbs gave him a smirk. "Finally." The NCIS Director whispered and smirked too.

* * *

When Tony finally got to the airport, he was certain that he'd have to fight at least 3 speeding tickets but he didn't care. He looked at the departures board and saw that Ziva's flight was about to board in a few minutes. That meant that she was already at the gate. He had to get there before she boarded the plane. He quickly purchased a plane to…. To somewhere and got to the security check. There was a huge line. Of course.

"I have to go through." Tony started making his way through the crowd. "Please, let me through."

"Get back in line. We have flights too." Some old man shouted but Tony ignored him. He finally got to the officer.

"Good day, sir. I have to ask you to get in line."

"Look, buddy. You and I we are on the same side. I'm a LEO too. And no that's not my sign, it means law enforcement officer. See the badge? Ok, I need you to let me through because the woman that I love is leaving and I have to tell her…"

"That you love her?" The guy said. "I know what a LEO is, Agent DiNozzo. You were the one who taught me that my first week on the job." Tony looked closely at the guy. "Denis? You don't remember me. You're still friends with Dr Mallard, right?"

"Yeah. Denis. I remember you. Now can I go, please?"

"So what's the story?" Denis asked. When Tony looked at him frustrated. "Go. Go get her."

That was all that Tony was waiting for. He ran past the metal detectors and toward the gate where the flight to Tel Aviv was supposed to be. Finally seeing it, he noticed that Ziva was just about to get on the plane.

"Ziva." He shouted. "Ziva. Wait!"

"Tony? What are you doing here?" She turned away to face him.

"You forgot your magazines again." He smiled.

"So you decided to bring me invisible ones?" She smirked back. "Tony.  _What_  are you doing here?" She asked again mimicking the question that she'd asked him in Somalia.

"I couldn't live without you." He answered remembering the same conversation. They smiled. They both wanted to lose themselves in the moment. Because they knew that it was their last one together.

"What move is this scene from?" Ziva put her hand on his cheek. "I have to know my lines." She hoped that the joke would push back the moment where this conversation would become serious.

"Not a movie. More like the finale episode of  _Friends_  where Ross and Phoebe go to the airport to stop Rachel from going to France. Except the part with the death cap and the wrong airport." Then his face became serious and she knew that this was it. Tony DiNozzo was finally going to talk. "And I'm not here to stop you but to see you off."

"Tony." She whispered against his cheek.

"I get it." He whispered back. "I understand why you have to leave. It's who you are and that is what makes you the most wonderful person that I know."

"Tony, now is not the time." She said pulling back and stroking his cheek.

"Now's the perfect time." He took her hand.

"Why did you not come last night?" She asked obviously hurt.

"Last night was your farewell party. And I am not saying farewell to you." He pulled her close and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I am leaving. I have to get on the plane." They foreheads were touching. Tony took her hands in his and laid a kiss on each of them.

"I know. Just give me minute." He said with a sad voice. "I waited so long for this. I waited  _too_  long for this. I waited for 8 years to tell you. I waited 8 years to realize it. I could never picture my life without you, Ziva. And it hurts like hell that I will be forced to live it." She tried to shush him but he stopped her. "Let me finish. I'm sorry that I'm saying this only now but I love you. I love you more than I have loved anyone in my life. I love you so much that it hurts. I love you so much that I was selfish enough to want to keep you for me. But what I realized this morning is that I love you too much to pull you back. That I love you enough to let you go." That was it. They were both crying in front of the entire airport. But they didn't care. It was their moment.

"I love you too." She said and kissed him softly. A kiss soaked with their tears. "I am sorry that we didn't have the time."

"No.  _I_  am sorry. We did. We had 8 years. We were…  _I_  was just too blind to see it. Too much of a coward to take action."

"Miss. All the other passengers boarded the plane. Are you getting on?" The stewardess asked. Ziva nodded.

"Just a second. Please." Tony begged the woman who nodded. "I want you to take this. I had to go back to my place to get it. That's why I was late." He took a little red box from his pocket that Ziva knew contained the ring that his father had given him. A family heirloom passed from father to son for generations.

"Tony I cannot take this." Het face was more serious that he had ever seen it.

"It's not an engagement ring. I mean it has a diamond on it but…" his mouth was dry and there were still so many things that he wanted to say before she left. "I'm leaving it with you to keep. Along with my heart. As a promise. You know how much I love this ring. Well, one day, I'll get it back from you and we will start a life together. That day will come. Whether in a year or 20, we will find our way back to each other. I refuse to believe otherwise."

"Tony, you need to move on." She didn't want him to cling on to the past.

"I know. And I will. But this will always be yours." He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you." It took everything for her not to let her tears come down again. It took even more to pull away from him and hand the airhostess her boarding pass and passport.

Tony stayed there and watched her disappear in the plane. Taking his heart with her.

* * *

It was a beautiful morning of May when Leon Vance asked the MCRT to his office. When Gibbs, McGee, Gibbs and Sandra Shaw, the newbie of the team, entered the office they were greeted by no other than Secretary Jarvis.

"Morning, Sir." Gibbs said. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" That was the fakest that Gibbs had ever sounded in Vance's opinion.

"Please have a seat." The Director pointed to the table. "Secretary Jarvis has some news and we wanted to inform your team first."

"As you know 9 years ago a liaison position between Mossad and NCIS was created by Directors Shepherd and Chazan ( _AN/ Eli was only Deputy Director back then so I made up a name for the Director._ ). It was maintained under Directors David and Vance. I have to say that I did not approve of it at the time. However, it has been brought to my attention that there have been mutual benefits from it and I am well aware of the drawbacks caused by the suppression of the position." The Agents looked at the Secretary of the Navy without understanding where he was going with this.

"Under the renewal of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the White House wants to strengthen cooperation in the region in order to avoid last years events." Director Vance explained.

"We are setting up a taskforce, which is to be managed by an American agent and a Mossad Officer who will,  _together_ , choose the rest of the team." Secnav explained.

"Director Elbaz and I will have final approval of the nominations." Vance clarified.

"What are  _we_  doing here?" Shaw asked without fully understanding why the other 3 agents were looking with such anticipation or why agent DiNozzo was gripping the arm of his chair for dear life. Jarvis and Vance exchanged a look.

"The position will be made public next week." Secnav finally said. "Analysts and agents specialized in the Middle East would kill to work there."

"Nevertheless, Officer Eschel, who will most likely be the Israeli chief officer, requested that we approach you first saying that you are "the least of all evils". His words not mine." Vance added.

"You want agent Gibbs to run the taskforce?" Shaw was about to protest but remained silent after agent McGee sent her a death glare.

"Even though this is a military cooperation task force, Gibbs' idea of diplomacy is not… the best suited." Secnav smiled. "The offer is extended to Agent DiNozzo." Everyone remained silent for a moment.

"You want  _me_  to lead this thing?" Tony didn't know whether to be shocked or flattered.

"Despite your little of expertise in the Middle East, your loyalty and leadership skills seem to have caught Officer Eschel's eye." Vance commented. "Consider it." He then turned to McGee. "Agent McGee. This taskforce will work on very sensitive information. Therefore, I would like you to consider forming a Cyber-team in order to ensure data security. I am sure we can work out something better than the Cyber-unit's basement." The Director smiled. "Gibbs, if Agents McGee and DiNozzo accept their new positions, they will not be leaving your team before the fall, so you will have time to form a new team." Gibbs smirked. Vance knew that if McGee and DiNozzo were to leave, Gibbs would hand in his resignation. That was the best team that he'd trained and no one would compare to them.

"That'll be all." Secnav dismissed them. Everyone got up except for Tony who stared blankly into space. Once everyone left, he got up and looked at Vance. Just as he was about to speak the man cut him off.

"I don't know Officer Eschel all that well but no Mossad officer is easily influenced. You surely know that. He has built his opinion on you and made that offer all by himself."

"Yes, Director." Tony nodded with a smile and headed toward the door.

"DiNozzo." Secnav stopped him. "Think this through. You will have to represent NCIS and the United States accordingly and be able to stand up to Eschel. Just because this liaison position will be on their turf this time shouldn't mean that Mossad has the lead."

"Their turf?" Tony hoped that his glare didn't show too much excitement.

"You will have to travel back an forth but the head quarters will be located in Tel Aviv." Vance clarified with a smirk. "A few blocks away from the Mossad building." Tony nodded knowing what Vance had meant by that remark.

A couple of days after that conversation, Tony was sitting in his apartment when he heard a knock on the door. He got up and opened it only to find McGee.

"Hey, Probie. What are you doing here?"

"We were going to watch the game on your TV? I promised to bring beer if you ordered pizza…" McGee realized that with everything that had been going on in the past week, it was normal.

"Yeah, right. Come in. I… I'll make the call. Is Chinese ok? Pizza place is kind of far."

"Fine by me."

Half an hour later, when the food arrived, none of them had said a word. They were both staring at the screen without really watching.

"Here you go." DiNozzo handed Tim his order. McGee switched off the sound of the TV and turned to the man sitting next to him.

"So, what are you going to do?" He asked.

"I'm going to eat that food, drink my beer and watch the game if you would so kindly put the sound back on." However McGee took the remote from his friend and looked him in the eyes. "Paperwork and kissing ass for the rest of my life? Please. And I don't like Tel Aviv."

"Tony."

"Fine. I'm thinking about it." Tony took a sip from his beer. "It's just… It's a lot of responsibility. And, honestly, I don't know if I'm the best man for the job."

"You know. Most analysts would want this job because it is the perfect career advancement. They might have knowledge that you don't but they don't care as much as you would. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"Maybe." Tony took a deep breath and another sip of his beer.

"Have you talked to…"

"No." The senior agent simply said. "I have to make this decision on my own."

"You're right." McGee nodded. "I heard that Vance is already considering EJ Barett for the new MCRT."

"She's a good fit for the job." Tony agreed.

"Everything is going to change." McGee spoke with a calm tone. "But change can be a good thing, right?" He added after a moment of silence.

"It can. To change." Tony raised his bottle.

"To change." Tim did the same.

* * *

On the morning of September First, a woman entered the NCIS building after being away for almost 2 years. She flashed her new ID to the security guard who kindly let her in with a nod.

"Good morning, Agent, Barrett." He smiled at her.

"Morning, Brett." She smiled back and headed toward the elevator.

Once on the third floor, she smiled when she recognized the good old orange walls. She got off the elevator and headed toward her desk. When she reached it, she put down her coffee cup, opened her bag, pulled out a photo out and pinned it to the wall behind her chair.

"Good morning, Agent Barrett." A woman and 2 men approached her desk. The woman was the only one who called her "Madam".

"It's EJ or Agent Barrett but  _not_  Madam. Are we clear, Shaw?" The man nodded. "I believe that you've met Derek and Paul." She nodded again. "I'm sure that you'll enjoy working with them as much as I have so far. Now, I'd love to sit and chat but I got a call on the way here. We have a dead marine, so gear up, people. Let's move it." She grabbed back her backpack and headed toward the elevator with a smile. It was nice to be home.

* * *

A few hours later, another woman left the NCIS HQ and headed to another building in the Navy Yard. She was wearing a short skirt and high platform shoes. Her hair was breaded in two pigtails and she was carrying a black umbrella. When she reached her destination, she handed her ID to the security guard, who gave her a visitor's pass and let her in the building.

When she exited the elevator on the 2nd floor, she saw an open space, a little like the one in the NCIS HQ but this one was full of computers. And when she walked in the old squad room, she didn't need to worry about a guy getting an asthma attack. "Who is that?" she heard a guy whisper. She ignored the comment and headed toward the office that was separated with a glass door.

"He's not here." A girl whose computer was located nearby said.

"I'll wait in his office then." The woman smiled and entered the office ignoring the looks of the entire bullpen. She sat at the desk where she noticed a picture of herself stroking a German shepherd and smiled. A few minutes later, a man entered the open space.

"Boss, there is a lady here for you." One of the nerdiest looking guys said.

"A lady?" The Boss looked over his office. "Thank you, Josh. And… never let Abby hear you calling her a lady." With that he headed toward his office.

"I thought I was picking you up." He smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"I know but I missed you, Timmy." She smiled back. "And there is nothing I can do until Major Mass Spec gives me results."

"So, how's the new MCRT?" McGee took his jacked and lead her toward the door.

"Ok. I guess. EJ's nice enough. But she messed up my Caff-Pow." Abby complained a little. "It's never going to be the same." She took his arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I know, Abs. I miss them too." He put an arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. "So, where do you want to go to lunch?"

* * *

Agent Ziva David was not a patient woman especially when she was being asked to do a Probie's job. Her phone rang and she picked it up without even looking at the caller.

"David." Her tone showed her frustration.

"Calm down, Ziva. I got off the phone with our guest. He has just arrived. He should be leaving the terminal any minute now."

"Adam, why do I have to come and pick him up? I have more important things to do."

"Believe me, Ziva. You would have held it against me if I didn't ask you to do this." The man on the other end said.

"Fine. Now will you tell me who this man is? How am I supposed to pick him up if I do not know what he looks like?"

"You'll know, Ziva. Trust me. I will see you later." With that Adam Eschel hung up the phone. Ziva took a deep breath and looked toward the doors from which the passengers came out. After a few moments, she realized what Adam had meant. That was not possible. Was that really the man who was supposed to lead the new task force? If that was a dream, someone needed to wake her up fast because of it went on, she would be truly heartbroken if it wasn't true. The man recognized her and headed toward her with his typical DiNozzo grin.

"Did I tell you, or didn't I tell you?" His smile was wider than she'd ever seen it.

" _You_  are the American Agent in charge of the taskforce?" She was still in shock.

"One and the same." She smiled back with a smile that truly lit her eyes. They stayed like that for a few moments.

"In that case, welcome to Tel Aviv, Agent DiNozzo." She smirked. "I hope that you will like it better than you did during your last visit."

"Oh, Officer David. I'm sure that I will."

* * *

Once the ruins of the broken shelf were in the dumpster the man with the man entered the shop and started taking measurements. When he heard the doorbell, he looked up to see an older man with a cane enter.

"You can do that tomorrow, Jethro." Jackson Gibbs said. "Dinner is ready."

"Coming, dad." Jethro finished writing down the dimensions of the shelf.

"It's good to have you back here, LJ." Jackson smiled.

"It's good to be back." Gibbs joined his father at the back of the store. "No place like home, right?" The two of them clinked their beer bottles and smiled.

 

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I have to clue of how these task forces work, so pardon me for any inaccuracies.
> 
> Second, I imagined the last part with the scenes intertwined with a background music: you see EJ getting in the building, Tony getting on the plane, Gibbs cleaning his father's shop, EJ meeting the team etc. You get the idea.
> 
> And sorry if the first part was a little out of character. I was in a little cheesy mood.


End file.
